Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore responds Wednesday, April 27, 2016, to complaints made in January by various groups protesting his administrative order explaining the legal status of the Alabama Sanctity of Marriage Act and the Alabama Marriage Protection Act in Montgomery, Ala. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

The group Liberty Counsel, which is representing Moore, stated it will "vigorously defend" Moore against this complaint. The group describes itself as an "international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989."

The charges focus on Moore's Administrative Order issued in January of this year in which he wrote that the 2015 orders of the Alabama Supreme Court telling probate judges not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples still remained in effect - despite the U.S. Supreme Court ruling - until that court further indicates otherwise.

But Moore did not participate in the 2015 orders, which ruled that the Probate Judges must uphold the Alabama Sanctity of Marriage Act, according to the statement from Liberty Counsel.

"The Judicial Inquiry Commission has no authority over the Administrative Orders of the Chief Justice of Alabama or the legal injunction of the Alabama Supreme Court prohibiting probate judges from issuing same-sex marriage licenses. We intend to fight this agenda vigorously and expect to prevail," the statement quotes Moore as saying.

Founder an chairman of Liberty Counsel, Mat Staver, also attacked the Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC) in the statement.

"The Alabama Supreme Court has repeatedly slapped down the JIC for wading into legal arguments and has reminded the JIC is it not a court of law," Staver states. "Yet, the JIC has once again veered from its duty and now seeks to resolve a legal dispute that can only be resolved by the Alabama Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court," he stated.

"Earlier this year a federal Court of Appeals and three federal District Courts rendered the same opinion as Chief Justice Moore about how to apply the U.S. Supreme Court's marriage opinion," Staver stated. "The Alabama Supreme Court also backed up the Chief Justice," he stated.

"If the JIC wants a final legal interpretation, it has no authority to render its own interpretation. That is a matter for the U.S. Supreme Court," Staver stated. "The JIC complaint is outrageous because its sole focus is on the interpretation of the law, which is beyond the JIC's authority to resolve," he stated.

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